Recipe: Wild Rice Burgers

On our recent trip to Minnesota, we ate wild rice every chance we could get, savoring the chewy texture and rich, nutty flavor of this Great Lakes specialty. Some of our most memorable meals were the meat-free, wild rice burgers served at restaurants like Fitger's Brewhouse, Black Woods, and Grandma's in Duluth. Although these popular eateries keep their recipes a closely guarded secret, we managed to come up with a remarkably satisfying version of our own, and it's sure to please vegetarians and omnivores alike.

The chewy texture of wild rice really lends itself to a burger, and we rounded out the nutty flavor with some sharp Asiago cheese and a hint of spice. To hold the burgers together, we used breadcrumbs and eggs. You can use store-bought breadcrumbs but it's very easy to make your own from white or whole-grain bread. (If you're avoiding eggs and cheese, see the vegan variation below.)

The only time-intensive part of this recipe is the wild rice – depending on the particular grains you have, it may take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to cook. If you want, make the rice a day or two ahead, cool it on a baking sheet, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the burgers.

We highly recommend seeking out natural lake and river wild rice, which has a better flavor than cultivated rice; either kind is delicious, though. If you don't live near the Great Lakes, look for wild rice at Trader Joe's; Emma has attested that it's quite good.

Emily Han (formerly Emily Ho) is a writer, recipe developer and educator on topics such as food preservation, wild food and herbalism. She is author of Wild Drinks and Cocktails (Fall 2015), co-founder of Food Swap Network and creator of Miss Chiffonade